


Where The Night Falls

by kuhekabir



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-03
Updated: 2011-09-03
Packaged: 2017-10-23 09:26:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/248771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuhekabir/pseuds/kuhekabir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sam and Dean share a campground with people looking for aliens, the last thing Dean expected was for Sam to bring home an angel. And change their lives forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where The Night Falls

Summary: When Sam and Dean share a campground with people looking for aliens, the last thing Dean expected was for Sam to bring home an angel. And change their lives forever.

 **TEASER**

 _“Angel…” Gabriel was patting his chest, “I’m an angel of the lord. Behold my magnificence…!” he spread his arms while church bells somehow rang in the middle of nowhere._

 _“No?” Gabriel sounded disappointed when his theatrics got him no reaction at all. “You’re really no fun,” he complained._

 _“You expect us to believe angels are real?” Finally Dean seemed to have found his voice, speaking out loud what was also on Sam’s mind._

 _Suddenly dark wings spread out behind Gabriel, soaking up any light in the immediate vicinity._

 _“Angels?” Sam mouthed, staring wide eyed at Dean._

 _“Only you,” Dean grumbled, “Only you could walk into a lake and somehow find the most deluded creature alive.”_

 _“I’m many things,” Gabriel huffed, “but deluded isn’t one of them!”_

 _“Fine,” Dean folded his arms across his chest. “You’re an angel. Congratulations.”_

 

Where The Night Falls

 

The brisk air, the cool spring air and the fresh scent of trees was all it took for Sam to feel happy, to feel at peace.

Maybe he was easy, a thought, which caused him to snort in amusement because if anyone was really easy, it would be his brother who like some sort of cat in heat, always chased after the prettiest tail in the area.

And lately, well, lately Sam had seen Dean vanish with men just as often as women and even though his brother had never said anything to him, Sam had drawn his own conclusions.

He could honestly say he didn’t care who Dean slept with as long as he didn’t catch something fatal, like led poisoning from accidentally hooking up with something evil.

Sam snorted out loud, shaking his own head at himself. Sometimes he wondered where his thoughts always drifted off too.

He was supposed to be the smart one, the one who’d gone away to college and who got all the good grades and yet, sometimes Sam couldn’t help but wonder if Dean was actually the one with the brains in the family.

When his brother didn’t think with the lower region of his body of course. Then all rational thoughts went out the window.

“I got us the last place,” Sam rushed towards Dean who was casually leaning against the Impala.

“There is a restriction on how many people they let in?” Dean wondered and Sam rolled his eyes.

“Of course there is,” Sam answered, “There’s only so many people the campground will hold.”

“If you say so…” Dean didn’t sound convinced and for a moment Sam felt a sting of irritation.

Why did Dean always make a face when they were doing something Sam actually liked?

This was their first sort of holiday in like forever and Sam had picked the location.

Granted, in retrospect maybe he should’ve paid more attention to the local news but despite the apparent news frenzy in this place, Sam still loved this spot and he wasn’t going to be chased away from where he had wanted to go by crazy people!

So what if there were more people around than he would’ve liked. Around them was nothing but nature for miles and more miles; surely he would be able to loose the annoying crazy people at some stage.

Dean of course wasn’t going to go hiking or even consider taking a boat out onto the lake because Dean’s idea of a holiday was to sit on his ass, stare at the pretty scenery walking by and then go have dinner.

And there was nothing wrong with that; plenty of people who led an active life style wanted nothing more than peace and quiet once they actually managed to get some free time but for some reason, Sam was always buzzing with energy and just the idea of sitting still for hours on end sent him into a panic.

He only survived the many long hours of sitting through classes or of studying because he had been honestly fascinated by the subjects, they held his interest.

Maybe he was a contradiction: a bookworm meets a guy who can’t sit still but to him those two weren’t exclusive.

For example he could go on a hike for hours, carrying a book around with him and when he finally sat down, he could spend hours reading before finishing his hike.

Perfect, right?

Sam had to do some major groveling to get Dean to agree to come to this campground for a week because of course, they were the only two hunters in the world and if they so much dared as take a minute off everything would fall into chaos.

A brush with death of course worked wonders and him getting injured on their last hunt had finally persuaded Dean to take some time off. Sam would never worry Dean on purpose, despite what Dean seemed to think, but he honestly couldn’t feel sorry for taking every advantage presented to him.

If he had twisted his recent accidents in his favour and if this was a bad thing, well then he was guilty as charged because he wasn’t even sorry for it.

They needed this holiday and the world would just have to go on without them for a week.

Dean was grumbling as he locked up the car, flinging a duffel over his shoulders, leaving the major equipment to be carried by Sam.

Sam rolled his eyes but he picked up their inflatable tent and his own duffel bag without a single comment.

The Impala was parked in the shade of trees that had probably been on this world for centuries judging from their big stumps and from their sheer size and it had been the only spot Dean had accepted. A fight had nearly broken out between Dean and some guy in a Jeep but one glare from Dean had sent the guy scurrying off.

The spot here was only a short distance away from the main gate, away from the main hassle of all the other cars and of kids who might feel tempted to scratch on shiny surfaces putting Dean’s beloved car in mortal danger.

No one messed with Dean’s car, no one.

When they were through the gate which wasn’t really more than a short fence indicating where the camp ground started and not really managing to keep anyone out who wanted to get in, Dean started furtively looking around, searching for a spot on a higher ground which would allow him to keep his car in eyesight.

Sam rolled his eyes again, biting his tongue to keep from commenting on his brother’s crazy behaviour.

Despite what Dean had claimed, there weren’t so many children around to actually pose a threat and with a wicked grin Sam noted that maybe Dean would be interested in coming with him on some hikes after all because surely the current clientele was going to drive him nuts otherwise.

A huge sign in vivid green with pink writing hung from a tree with a few exited men and women standing underneath it, chatting with hands and feet as if otherwise no one would be able to understand them.

“Really, Sammy?” Dean grumbled, “Couldn’t we’ve just driven on and gone somewhere else?”

“No,” Sam replied stubbornly, “I won’t be chased away from the one place I’ve wanted to come to for so long by a bunch of people looking for aliens.”

Aliens.

Sam shook his head.

Maybe he shouldn’t be so quick to judge people because his current reaction would be the same one other people would have if he told them he hunted werewolves, ghosts and demons.

Still, the very rational side of him couldn’t believe in aliens coming to Earth to look at humans because as a species they surely weren’t all that interesting.

But who was he to rain on someone’s parade?

And besides, the excitement in the air, the hopeful smiles and the general friendly attitude of people was more than enough to make up for the whole alien business.

Dean though kept eying everyone warily, which on its own was enough amusement for Sam to be entertained for hours.

Leave it to a seasoned hunter who had faced countless monsters to actually be slightly frightened by humans watching for aliens!

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,” Dean said after having finally picked a spot from where he could see his car, “Demons I get, humans are just plain crazy.”

Sam made a noncommittal sound, which could’ve been classified as a snort, agreement or amusement, and when Dean narrowed his eyes at him, Sam simply held his gaze, looking his most innocent.

“You’re happy with this spot then?” Sam asked, putting the gear down.

“I already said so,” Dean grumbled, falling onto the ground as if he had walked for hours and was in dire need of medical assistance.

“Are you helping me with this?” Sam asked but he was already starting because he knew the answer to his question even before Dean answered.

“No, princess,” Dean replied, “This camping thing was your idea. So you can have all the fun you want. I’ll just sit here, pretend this is a beach with scantily clad women and the leaf in my hand is actually a margarita.”

“Fine,” Sam mumbled, his tongue was peeking out which always happened when he was concentrating.

The tent was new, paid for with one of the many fake credit cards they used and quite unlike anything Sam had ever used before. He’d gone camping before but he wasn’t too familiar with this new thing.

But after poking and prodding at it a few times, he finally managed to get it all set up, shoving his duffel bag inside.

“Want to come on a tour with me?” Sam asked, bouncing on his heels because yes, this was why they were here.

To enjoy the great outdoors with no human pollution in the form of houses or concrete and while there were maybe a bit too many people around to be perfect, Sam had long ago forsaken any illusion about actually getting what he wanted.

So he would go with what he was actually presented with and count himself lucky.

“No,” Dean waved at him, “I’m good here. I might go back and get us some beers.”

“Suit yourself,” Sam mumbled, heading down the short slope towards the lake.

The hilly terrain was beautiful and the major campground area was bare of trees to leave room for tents and small fires.

All around them though was forest and even though there was a small shore, the beach wasn’t even big enough to hold two people walking next to each other.

Sam didn’t care though. He more or less jumped down the steep incline to get down to the water, removing his boots and socks, tying the shoelaces together and then flinging them over his shoulders.

He carefully stuck his toes into the water, cringing at the cold temperature but he wasn’t about to be discouraged.

He slowly started walking, leaving the bustling of the campground behind and after taking a sharp turn; most of the sounds fell away too.

He took a deep breath, enjoying the clean air despite the slight sting in the air.

The sun was already low in the sky and this early in spring, the temperature soon would plummet too but if he was deterred by cold temperatures he would have never made it as a hunter so far and right now, he needed to unwind a little bit.

So he kept on walking, splashing water around him, soaking the lower part of his trousers even though he had rolled them up but who cared?

He stopped, and tilted his head skyward, allowing the last few sunrays to warm his skin.

Birds were chatting nearby, some furry forest animals were scurrying about in the bushes and the occasionally soft splashing sounds could be jumping fish.

The sudden silence was almost deafening because nothing could’ve prepared Sam for it.

One moment the world around was busy with being alive and then, one second later, no sound was to be heard at all.

Sam’s eyes snapped open, his body stance changing from relaxed to ready in a second flat. His eyes were darting left and right, looking for any sign of danger but apart from everything having gone quiet nothing seemed to be different.

The leaves on the trees were still rustling, the water was still softly crashing ashore but all the animals seemed to have lost their ability to make a sound.

Suddenly, as quickly as the strange blanket of silence had descended, it lifted and everything was back to normal.

The change was so quick, causing even Sam to doubt what he had just witnessed.

He shook his head, some dark strands of hair falling into his face. He brushed his nose. He’d probably imaged the incident.

Yes, he was in need of rest, weary of being a hunter all the time and his exhausted mind had conjured up peace and quiet.

Still, the nagging feeling in the back of his mind remained. Maybe the only reason why he didn’t scream murder was because despite the shocking silence, he hadn’t felt threatened once.

Quite to the contrary really.

When there had been no sound, he had felt safe and protected. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time, if even ever.

~~

“Thought you’d gotten lost,” Dean grumbled when Sam finally shuffled up towards their camping spot.

He shrugged, sitting down and wiping his feet on the grass, allowing the air to dry them.

“They’re setting up a camp fire,” he pointed towards not too far away. “We’re all invited.”

“Just give a minute,” Sam mumbled, rubbing his feet before putting his socks on and then his boots.

“We don’t have anything to grill though,” Sam said, “We only have bread and cheese and some soup packs.”

“No meat?” Dean’s voice was slightly shrill because apparently the notion of going without meat for a few days was frightening to him.

“Where would I store it?” Sam pointed out in a forcefully calm voice, “You didn’t want to waste,” the quotation marks on “waste” were more than audible from his tone of voice, “you didn’t want to waste our fake money on a cooler so I could only get things which wouldn’t perish straight away.”

Dean pouted but he conceded the point.

“Oh well,” the man said, “I’m sure someone will share.”

Sam rolled his eyes but he didn’t deny the chance was good for Dean to be able to sweet talk someone into sharing their food with them.

Sam quickly ducked into their tent, rifling through his duffle for a long sleeved shirt, putting it on while walking.

Dean had gone ahead because obviously waiting for his younger brother would’ve cramped his style.

They’ve only been hunting together again for over a year. Dean had come to get Sam for Dad’s funeral and frankly Sam was still slightly disturbed by not having really felt sorry to see the man go.

He had been his father! He should’ve felt something apart from relief but all he could think about while he watched John Winchester’s body burn was that at least now he wasn’t going to be subjected to impromptu visits and hounding phone calls about how he shouldn’t have left the family fold and how wasting his time at college wasn’t how he should put his so called real skills to good use.

Dean hadn’t stopped by once; all the time he was gone his brother hadn’t even called and Sam, after having tried to call him two times, had given up too.

If Dean wanted a clean break, then Sam would give it to him. As to why Sam was suddenly shunned by the only one he had expected who would understand was beyond him but if Sam had learned anything in his life then it was to stop trying to understand things that he couldn’t control.

Seeing Dean again after such a long time had brought both joy and pain and even knowing his brother would have probably never come to see him if their father hadn’t died, hadn’t tempered Sam’s moment of happiness.

The only silver lining when it came to Dad’s death was that he had died while taking the demon with him that had killed his wife and destroyed his life.

Sam couldn’t deny feeling relief too because knowing the creature who had sent them down this path was finally gone had put his own mind at ease.

And going back to college after the funeral had been on Sam’s mind but instead he had chosen to take some time away from things.

Thankfully he had an understanding advisor who had managed to secure him some leave. But time was running out.

If he ever wanted to go back, he would have to make that decision soon because the fall semester was only a few months away.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, unsure what he wanted to do.

The need to make a decision had been plaguing him for a while but unfortunately the few times he had tried to bring the subject up, Dean had shut him down so quickly that Sam had almost gotten dizzy.

He couldn’t tell if Dean would be happy to see him go or sad. Would he start to ignore Sam again if he left? Would the decision be not about him going back to college but about if he wanted to keep his brother in his life?

And why would he have to make such a decision anyway?

If Dad had managed to stop by and annoy the living hell out of Sam why couldn’t Dean pop in once in a while? He wasn’t even asking Dean to spend the holidays, hell, he might even not stop by at all as long as he picked up the phone once in a while!

But from the looks of it, Sam was going to have to make this decision on his own without having all the facts and frankly Sam wasn’t really all that good in making these kind of decisions without at least trying to cover every angle.

When he had left the last time, heated words had gotten exchanged between all of them but he had never thought that this argument would end up being the one that was different. Hadn’t they argued before? Sometimes Sam had even come away with bruises when all control had been lost but like a storm, afterwards everything had always gone back to normal.

Why was wanting to have a different life, wanting to go to school such a horrible offence in his crazy family?

Sam sighed. There was no point in going over this until his head spun.

By the time Sam reached the fire, Dean was already happily chatting with an older guy, waving Sam over.

“This is Kurt,” he introduced Sam, “And this is my little brother.”

“Not so little, eh?”

Sam smiled politely. He didn’t much like references to his height. He wasn’t all that tall; he couldn’t help it if most people were short.

Sam left Dean happily chatting with Kurt, finding who knew what in common to make the rounds. The fire was crackling merrily and by now the sun had sunk, leaving the rest of the world shrouded in darkness.

Electric torches were hanging on bushes, giving just enough light to not be stumbling around blind while in the vicinity of the huge fire not only was the cold spring air being beaten back but at times, Sam wondered if sunglasses wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

He sat down, smiling at a few passersby’s until a couple sat down next to him, offering him a stick with some delicious smelling meat on it.

“Thank you,” Sam said politely, “I’m afraid we didn’t pack any meat because Dean, my brother, didn’t want to get a cooler.”

The woman smiled understandingly, “It can be rather expensive to get all the gear needed if you’re not using it often.”

Sam nodded in agreement, chewing on the meat while his stomach rumbled in appreciation.

“So everyone’s here for the aliens then?” Sam casually inquired, fishing for more information.

“Of course,” the man said in excitement, “We were lucky that we were already in the area when the news broke.”

Sam nodded thoughtfully as if this was the reason why he was here too.

“The pictures were really magnificent. The best ones I’ve ever seen,” the woman added, fumbling around in her pockets, producing a mobile phone. “Here, take a look,” She said, holding the phone out to him.

He took it, scrolling through the array of pictures and frankly he was astonished to see that maybe this people weren’t quite as crazy as he had thought.

He doubted whatever he was looking at was alien in nature, probably someone having a good time and overly excitable people had decided to blame aliens for it, but he couldn’t deny he was looking at something.

A light seemed to hang in the night air, kind of like a streak of lighting and in later pictures it seemed to hover before it would seem to burst into tiny stars.

Maybe someone was testing some technology nearby?

Clearly though, Sam decided, it could be fun to head out with these people and spend the night under the stars, alien watching.

This was his holiday after all. He could be as crazy as he wanted to be and chances were pretty good Dean would hook up with someone anyway.

Where Dean’s constant need to rub his sexual conquests into Sam’s nose came from, the young man didn’t know but he was getting quite tired of it.

If Dean was this desperate couldn’t he just find without involving Sam all the time? And Sam was involved because how often had Dean come back to their motel room, dragging a woman behind him while neither one of them minded he was listening in to their fumbling and moans.

He was used to it by now because there wasn’t really all that much privacy to be had in a motel room but couldn’t Dean maybe show some consideration?

Sam hadn’t been a monk this past year, far from it. Breaking up with Jess a few days before Dean had come to get him had put him off sex for a few months but after his little stint at abstinence, he had taken up a woman or two on their offer.

He had never brought anyone back to the motel room though because he wasn’t that rude!

For whatever reason Dean seemed to be trying to prove a point and Sam was maybe a bit too mortified to actually ask his brother straight to his face.

So if he camped out under the stars tonight, Dean could have the tent and everyone would be happy, right?

Never mind about how Sam had been hoping Dean would actually spend some time with him because he liked to and not because they were hunting partners and because he trusted Sam in the field.

At least he was finally in the place where he had always wanted to come to as a child. Might be stupid having going camping to a specific site as a childhood dream but Sam’s life had always been unusual in more ways than one.

They had been on a hunt nearby, a few towns over and while Dad had taken a fourteen year old Dean along on a hunt, Sam had been left with an older couple.

What story John had told them Sam didn’t know but the few days he had spent with them had been heaven.

They had fed him like he was about to starve and they had come out here for a few hours so Sam could enjoy the lake.

Ever since then the magic of the place had touched something inside Sam, wishing he could come back.

Years later the wish had grown because from his childhood this place had been one of the few where he had always felt safe and protected and considering all that had happened to them since then, he found it rather understandable that he had wanted to come back here.

So far he wasn’t disappointed.

“We’re heading out to the sighting area in a few minutes,” the man said, “Want to join us?”

Sam turned his head, looking for Dean who was nowhere to be seen. He sighed before reminding himself he was a grown up, he could leave without seeking permission from his older brother. And didn’t Dean always do what he wanted anyway without checking if Sam was alright with it?

He didn’t want to be petty but fair was fair, right?

“Sure,” Sam smiled, taking the last bite of his meat before throwing the wooden stick away.

He got up and the couple did the same. Sam wasn’t quite sure where this sighting place was but thankfully the couple seemed to know where they were going and almost everyone else was also slowly making their way there.

They trekked along the lakeshore for a short while before following a small path into the forest and thankfully many people had brought torches along to light the way.

When the trees fell away, leaving them staring at a huge meadow Sam gasped.

Spring blossoms were everywhere and a heavy but pleasant scent hung in the air.

Every one filed out, spreading out wide and far and with a nod Sam walked away from the couple because he wasn’t really in the mood for more idle chit chat.

He didn’t mind being out here with the others but he wasn’t really here to stay up all night waiting for the aliens to arrive.

Surely if there were aliens about they had better things to do than show up to amuse humans. At least Sam would hope so.

Sam hadn’t brought his sleeping bag with him but he didn’t mind. He found a nice looking spot of moss and settled in.

Everyone was mostly quiet; probably trying not to scare the aliens away but a few hushed conversations drifted around, barely loud enough to overcome the sounds of the tree leaves rustling in the night’s breeze.

Sam shivered; it was getting rather cold after all and maybe he should come back tomorrow with his sleeping bag and jacket.

Having made up his mind, he slowly got up, walking around the edge of the meadow towards the path.

Stumbling in the darkness through the forest wasn’t his smartest idea yet but his eyes adjusted quickly and years of hunting had honed his senses, giving him an edge.

When he made it out of the forest, standing once more at the edge of the shore he took a moment to simply stand still, enjoying the chill in the air because it signified he was alive and for once, happy.

The cold night wasn’t quite as dark as one would think. The light smog in the cities, even in small towns was usually strong enough to block out the night’s sky but out here, nothing stood in between the stars and people gazing up at them.

Sam tilted his head backwards, staring at the twinkling dots that were bright enough to give him all the light he needed.

The dark surface of the lake was smooth but not completely dark.

The small path along the lakeshore was actually above the small beach and Sam had just managed to take a few steps before he stumbled, loosing his footing. He crashed sideways, sort of bouncing off the steep slope on his way down and only his lightning quick reflexes prevented him from injuring himself.

He got a few scratches alright but anyone else surely wouldn’t have walked away with such minor injuries.

Curses formed on his lips but they all evaporated into thin air when he saw something shimmering over the lake’s surface.

He stared, blinking rapidly.

There, just barely above the water’s surface, was a ball of light. Its glow was so bright it should’ve hurt his eyes but strangely he felt nothing but comfort while looking at it.

He was shedding his clothes before he could think twice about it, wading into the lake clad only in his underwear.

Shock waves erupted wherever the icy water touched his bare skin but Dean wasn’t the only one in their family who was stubborn.

He pushed on until he could finally swim, always keeping any eye out for the ball of light.

It was calling out to him, it was strangely familiar and somehow…home?

Normally the closer you got to an object, the more size it gained but not with this ball of light. The size never changed but thankfully it also didn’t move away.

Contrary to the lake’s calm surface, the undercurrents were anything but harmless and Sam was glad he was such a strong swimmer because anyone else might’ve gotten washed away by now.

When he finally reached the ball, all common sense left him, what was left anyway, because he reached out, touching it.

His fingertips penetrated the surface, sinking in and moments later the whole world erupted in bright, white light.

“Thank you,” echoed through his mind before the light vanished as if it had never been there, leaving Sam out in the middle of the lake, nearly blue from the cold.

“Well, that was useless,” Sam mumbled, sighing before turning around.

He was spluttering when he finally emerged from the lake, using his shirt to dry himself off before somehow managing to shuffle back into his clothes.

He put on his long sleeved shirt before following the small beach towards the campsite.

His body was barely responding to his orders, going numb from the cold and there was no way he was steady enough to crawl up the steep slope once more.

When he finally reached the camp sight, he grabbed a few branches of nearby bushes, hauling himself upwards until he nearly landed face first in the dirt. Mission had been accomplished though and the last part of the trip towards their tent flew past in a heartbeat.

When he crawled in, securing the flap, he shivered his way into the sleeping bag, pulling it up to his nose.

“Sammy?” Dean sleepily mumbled but Sam’s teeth were too busy clattering, so he was unable to actually formulate a response.

“Sammy?” Dean’s voice was more awake now but since Sam could not longer control his shaking body, he still wasn’t able to reply.

Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep, Dean closed the distance between them, yanking on Sam’s barely adequate cover until he could place his hand on Sam’s face.

“You’re freezing!” Dean exclaimed and the clattering of Sam’s teeth was the only sound that followed.

More shuffling and grunts later, Dean had somehow managed to squeeze himself into Sam’s sleeping bad, wrapping him up into a tight hug.

Dean was so warm, it almost hurt while at the same time Sam wouldn’t object to actually slipping into Dean as if he was a heating blanket.

The thought made him blush, even though he wasn’t quite sure why.

He snuggled closer, burying his nose in the crook of Dean’s neck, allowing his brother to fulfill his dreams of becoming an octopus.

“What happened to you?”

“Fell into the lake,” Sam mumbled, before amending, “Well, there was this light…”

“Light?”

“Hm…” Sam hummed before he slowly filled Dean in.

A shocked silence later Sam wanted to extract himself so he could look Dean in the face but his brother wouldn’t let him move.

“I don’t need to tell you’re an idiot,” Dean said slowly. “No, I take it back. There’s no word to describe how stupid you are.” Dean was hissing now, shaking but contrary to Sam’s own shakes, his brother was shaking out of barely contained fury.

And Sam didn’t care. He was warm, his body was slowly returning to its normal temperature and any outrage Dean felt, could wait until morning.

He sniffed, crawling even closer until his eyelids fell shut.

Dean must’ve noticed that Sam wouldn’t appreciate being yelled at at the moment because he didn’t press the point further, allowing his brother to fall asleep in his arms.

~~

Sam woke to a sigh and a soft kiss planted to the crook of his neck.

“Hmmm,” he hummed, leaning into the pleasant touch, his mind still addled with sleep.

A callused hand ran soothing circles on his flat stomach, making him forget all about feeling hungry.

Hungry lips found his own and Sam leaned into the touch, blinking sleepily but not yet fully waking.

The fingers gently stroking his belly moved sideways, nudging him to roll on his side so they could run on soothing paths up and down his back, like his partner wanted to calm a scared animal.

His back arched when the other hand wormed its way into his jeans, finding his already rock hard cock, fingers deftly wrapping around his shaft. Stroking, pushing, teasing…Sam keened, his eyes falling shut again, his body arching into the sensation. It had been way too long.

“Sammy…” Dean’s voice, also slurred by sleep washed over him but where someone else might’ve reeled back in shock, Sam’s breathing only paused for a moment before turning ragged again.

Dean…his mind hummed, vibrating with his brother’s name, not the least bit bothered to have his brother’s hand down his trousers, stroking him intimately.

He was still partially asleep but of course if he had truly objected, he would’ve been able to push Dean off.

The other man rolled Sam onto his back; his strong body was blanketing Sam’s lean one. Sam arched again into his brother’s touch, marvelling at the rock hard cock pressing into his own, realizing his brother must’ve taken himself in hand as well, rubbing them together.

His mind went fuzzy, to distant galaxies and stars and then everything erupted in a white, hot flare.

His lips parted, he wanted to shout Dean’s name at the top of his lungs but his words must’ve deserted him because nothing apart from a wretched sound escaped his lips.

When he came down from his high, he found Dean staring down at him, eyes wide as if he hadn’t realized what he was doing.

Sam blinked.

“Dean?” he offered shyly, his hands coming to rest on Dean’s hips, his fingers mimicking the soothing gesture from before.

Without another word, Dean rolled off of him, giving him a sideways glance, before grabbing a discarded shirt of the ground wiping himself clean and tugging himself in. then he threw the shirt at Sam, aiming so carelessly it hit him in the head.

Sam grunted, a string of curses leaving his lips but by the time he had managed to extract himself, Dean was gone.

Fuming Sam fell back and his head connected with the ground, staring at the fabric above.

What the fuck?

~~

Sam found Dean sitting on the ground, cradling a cup of coffee. He sat down beside his brother, not saying anything for a moment, giving Dean the chance to speak up.

Of course this was Dean so he didn’t say anything. His posture though was rigid and because Sam knew him pretty well, he could tell Dean was upset.

Did the idiot really think he had somehow taken advantage of Sam? That after all these years of fight training he wouldn’t know how to throw off unwanted attention? Or that he had gone mute? A simple no on his part would’ve stopped Dean in his tracks; there was no doubt in Sam’s mind about that!

But Dean wasn’t one to share and care and right now he was practically building a wall between them, keeping Sam at bay.

“Dean…?” Sam carefully tried because if his brother wasn’t going to take the first step, then he would at least try. He wasn’t so sure he wanted to talk about what had happened either because frankly, he wasn’t so sure what his own feelings and thoughts were on the matter but something this monumental can’t just be ignored!

“Are you hungry, Sam?” Dean asked and with a sigh Sam noted how he wasn’t using Sammy. It was a clear indication that Dean was upset and that he wanted Sam to get the silent message to just drop it.

“Fine,” Sam bit out. He was done always going out on a limb, trying to work out Dean’s strange way of communicating. He always gave the man the benefit of the doubt, reading between the lines but maybe it was time he stopped doing that.

What if what he read between the lines wasn’t actually there? Because Dean hadn’t actually said anything and he was getting bloody tired of wracking his head over Dean’s internal workings.

Even after Dad’s death they hadn’t mourned, unless Dean dragging him from one hunt to the other constituted mourning.

Dean shot him a startled look that Sam chose to ignore.

He was brimming with the need to know why Dean had touched him so intimately this morning and didn’t he have a right to know too?

He had been asleep when Dean had started touching him and maybe Dean had been somewhat sleeping too but like Sam, there had been a point when both of them had been awake and when both had made the conscious decision to go on.

But if Dean wanted to pretend he hadn’t had Sam’s cock in his hand, that they both hadn’t come together, then fine, Sam would let him.

He was bloody tired of the rollercoaster ride. Dean had a mouth and ignoring the filthy images that jumped into Sam’s mind he went on. Well, Dean had a mouth and if he wanted to communicate, he would have to make the effort himself.

Sam was done.

Going back to college seemed like a mighty good idea right about now. At least it deserved more consideration than he had given it before. If Dean didn’t want him around and was just too much a chicken to come out and say so, then Sam would walk away again.

He had done it before and while he had never actually walked away from Dean or his family, despite what certain people chose to believe, he wasn’t about to revert to his angsty sixteen year old self. He wouldn’t allow this to happen.

“I’ll see about getting the fire going then. Some melted cheese on bread sounds quite good right about now,” Sam casually said, his voice only holding a hint of tension.

Dean wasn’t the only one who knew how to mask his feelings when the need called for it.

He could feel Dean’s eye boring into his back, trying to figure out why Sam wasn’t bitching more than this but Sam steadily ignored him. Two could play this game.

Sam got enough bread for two and the cheese, sticking them on two sticks before sitting down close to the fire. Moments later Dean joined him, taking one stick and both men sat there in silence, staring at the flames.

The silence was far from uncomfortable but it still weighed heavily on Sam with all the unspoken words hanging between them. Words, he suspected, which would never be spoken.

Sam loved Dean. He always had and he probably always would. But enough was enough. Dad had made growing up a living hell for Sam and while he was now old enough to admit he might not have done it on purpose, good intentions still didn’t excuse the abuse levelled his way.

He wished though he would’ve gotten a chance to make peace, to talk to him (or at least try) as a grown up because maybe they would’ve been able to bury the hatchet.

Now he would never know and Sam wasn’t all that good with regrets. This was probably why he had stayed with Dean so long, torn between reclaiming the life he had always wanted and staying with the only family he had left.

And he resented the fact that he knew very well if he chose to leave, Dean would cut all ties once again. Why his brother seemed to be unable forgive him for wanting a life of his own, Sam didn’t know.

It wasn’t as if him wanting to study and have a different life meant he didn’t approve of Dean’s choices! Out of all of them, Dean’s motives for staying a hunter were the most pure because Dad had been in it for revenge, Sam because he had no choice but for Dean it had always been about helping people.

Sam sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He was just about to lift his breakfast when there was a change in air pressure.

The tiny hairs at the back of his neck stood up, his skin crawled with tiny ants while all his senses came alive as if he were a computer just booting up.

He didn’t need to make eye contact with Dean to know his brother was just as alert as he was. A change in the air like this always meant something out of the ordinary was going on and while Sam sometimes thought the lines between good and evil weren’t as clear cut as Dean liked to think, so far he hadn’t actually come across any proof to the contrary.

The fire rose higher causing both men to scramble backwards, their breakfast forgotten, dropping to the ground.

The multi-coloured sparks started to rise higher, forming some sort of figure and with wide eyes Sam thought: where they about to meet a fire demon? Did such a thing exist?

His mouth hung open when the sparks finally formed into a human shape, taking on a male form and by the time the flames were done, a naked man stepped out of the fire as if the heat had no effect on him at all.

He glanced down at his nude body; a frown marring his face before he snapped his fingers and clothes magically appeared.

“There,” he said contently, “Much better.”

His eyes locked with Sam’s. “Oh hello, Sammy-boy. Good to see you again!”

Dean’s head swirled around fast enough to displace air while Sam simply stared at the man, creature…thing with an open mouth.

“Who are you?”

The thing actually pouted before shrugging. “Of course you don’t remember me. But it’s still good to see you again.” Then he clapped his hands as if to signal this topic was over before stepping away from the fire. “Thanks so much for hearing my call and freeing me. It was getting quite tedious being tied up like that. My brother sure has a funny sense of humour…”

He shook his head at his own comment as if it was funny while Sam still was at a loss for words. “Uhm…you’re welcome?” He offered, unsure what else to say.

“You know him?” Dean accused but Sam simply ignored him. When Dean thought he could’ve gone and made friends with a fire demon was beyond him.

How would that have worked anyway?

“Oh pooh,” the creature rolled his eyes, “Don’t be mean to your little brother. I’m glad though to see you’re together. Some things never change, eh?”

What was that supposed to mean?

The thing walked past them, eyeing the tent in disdain before snapping his fingers again.

A soft, hot breeze ruffled Sam’s hair and for a moment he was so disoriented he didn’t even notice the waves crashing ashore or the soft sand underneath his feet.

The huge palm tree though was a dead give away of something not being quite right.

“Where are we?” he asked while Dean at the same time shouted, “What the fuck did you do?”

“You like it?” the creature ignored Dean; his eyes were trained on Sam as if his approval was what mattered.

“Yes,” Sam said slowly, “It’s nice but can you please take us back?” He was proud that his voice didn’t waver one bit. His theory about previously undiscovered fire demons had gone out the window because no demon Sam had ever heard off could transport people at the snap of his fingers.

“Fine,” the creature grumbled, “You were never much fun anyway. Always the party pooper…”

Another flick of his fingers later they were back at the campsite and this time Sam didn’t laugh when Dean started patting himself down, making sure all of his parts had made the transition.

“There’s no need to check if your equipment is there,” the creature quipped.

“What are you?” Sam asked, figuring if the thing wanted them dead they would be a pile of ash by now.

“I go by many names,” it said, “But lately I’ve taken my old name back. You can call me Gabriel.” He held out his hand and before Sam’s reflex could kick in he had already reached out and shook it.

“Gabriel?” Sam inquired, mind whirling along. “Like the archangel?”

Why he was thinking of angels was beyond him because they didn’t exist but now that the words were out of his mouth he couldn’t take them back anymore.

“Yes!” the man shouted, smiling widely. “I’ve always said you were the brains while Dean was the brawn.”

“Tales of my death were greatly exaggerated,” Gabriel explained. “I wasn’t killed, just momentarily suspended and when I came back, well, let’s say I wasn’t too happy with the turn of events.”

His head moved towards Dean, looking at him reproachful. “How could’ve let Cas be so stupid? He trusted you and you were too busy with your own problems to look out for him?”

Dean blinked.

“Who’s Cas?” Sam asked because apparently his brother had gone mute.

“My brother. Castiel?”

Sam shrugged, not any wiser.

“You could say Cas is Dean’s angel while I guess this makes me yours?”

“Come again?”

“Angel…” Gabriel was patting his chest, “I’m an angel of the lord. Behold my magnificence…!” he spread his arms while church bells somehow rang in the middle of nowhere.

“No?” Gabriel sounded disappointed when his theatrics got him no reaction at all. “You’re really no fun,” he complained.

“You expect us to believe angels are real?” Finally Dean seemed to have found his voice, speaking out loud what was also on Sam’s mind.

Suddenly dark wings spread out behind Gabriel, soaking up any light in the immediate vicinity.

“Angels?” Sam mouthed, staring wide eyed at Dean.

“Only you,” Dean grumbled, “Only you could walk into a lake and somehow find the most deluded creature alive.”

“I’m many things,” Gabriel huffed, “but deluded isn’t one of them!”

“Fine,” Dean folded his arms across his chest. “You’re an angel. Congratulations.”

Gabriel opened his mouth, clearly ready to argue but then choosing not to.

“Thanks for setting me free, Sam,” Gabriel said, winking at him. “If I see Cas around I’ll send him your way.”

Then he blinked out of existence as if he had never been there leaving two baffled hunters behind.

“Only you, Sam, only you,” Dean mumbled while picking up the stick with the food on it. He blew on it, deciding it was still good to eat and then he started munching.

Sam glared; too confused to sit down and most certainly no longer hungry.

“I’m going for a walk,” he said stiffly and of course Dean couldn’t help himself, he had to shout, “Try not to pick up any more strays while you’re gone!”

~~

The rest of the holiday was rather anticlimactic. Dean avoided him as if Sam was contagious leaving Sam with lots of time to think.

He was going to go back to college. He wasn’t wanted here and he couldn’t trail after his brother for the rest of his life simply because he would miss Dean otherwise.

Plucking up the courage to tell his brother though was quite another thing and of course the prefect moment never presented itself so Sam finally blurted it out when they left the campground behind.

“I’m going back to Stanford.”

The car veered off the road while Dean’s knuckles turned white. For a moment there was a tense silence in the car before Dean spoke, “When?”

“Not for a while yet,” Sam said. “I need to see about how to go about it…”

“Then maybe I should just drop you off there now. Give you the time you need to…do whatever it is your doing.”

Now? Sam’s mind reeled, swallowing hard while blinking rapidly to avoid tears from spilling over.

“You know what?” he bit out instead, “If I’m this much of a nuisance to you, just stop the car and I’ll get out of your hair now.”

Sam wasn’t so sure if he had actually expected Dean to do as he asked but when the car stopped he was only frozen for a few seconds. Then with angry motions, he yanked the door open, smashing it closed behind him. He grabbed his duffel from the trunk and he had barely managed to close it before Dean drove off with screeching tires.

Sam stared at the disappearing car, unsure about what had just happened. He rubbed his chin, needing a few moments to compose himself before a shiver ran over his body.

He shook his head; dark strands of silken hair were falling loosely around his face until he pushed them back again.

“Fine,” he mumbled, “Be this way. See if I care.”

He grabbed the bag, flung it over his shoulders and with steady feet he started walking along the road.

He honestly had nowhere to go at the moment but just like Dean he knew how to make due with next to nothing and how to get money if he needed it.

Maybe he should head towards Bobby or the Roadhouse because surely they wouldn’t turn their backs on him simply because he wanted more in life than hunting.

Little did he know he wasn’t going to make it to any of those places. At least not any time soon…

~~

Sam was floating on cloud nine. Though this supposed heavenly cloud was anything but heavenly if the aches and pains in his body were anything to by.

He groaned, eyes squeezing almost painfully shut.

What was going on?

Last thing he remembered was being angry with Dean, walking down the road while quietly stewing and then…well, then there was nothing until he was swimming in a sea of pain.

A desperate sort of sound reached his ears and he wondered if yet another poor sod was nearby, maybe in even more pain than he was? When he pitiful groan came again, he realized, he was making those sounds and he immediately bit his tongue to shut himself up.

He had no clue what was going on but he would be dammed before he would let anyone knew he was hurt.

His mind was too foggy to really comprehend what was going on but years as a reluctant hunter had taught him quite a few things. One of those important things was to never let an enemy see you were hurting or if you couldn’t quite fake being well believable, downplay your injuries.

And even in his state of mind Sam knew there was no way he had come to be in this state without someone lending a helping hand.

Those thoughts, those reasonings weren’t quite conscious on his part but years of training hadn’t gone passed him without leaving some kind of mark behind. Regardless of how much he’d like to protest.

“There, there, Sam…” a voice, not entirely familiar but also not belonging to a friend made some sort of comforting sounds and was there someone patting his head?

“I’ll be back. Don’t you worry about a thing. You’re safe now.”

Sam refrained from snorting, so he kept still and quiet – as well as he could under these circumstances anyway.

Eventually the other presence vanished and the flow of pain ebbed somewhat away, dulling to a distant roar in his ears, giving him enough strength to pry his eyes open.

Hazel eyes slowly blinked open, startled by the sunlight before the world slowly more and more came into focus.

He was lying on the ground, dew or maybe rain wetting his clothes and he was shivering.

The place wasn’t anything special and from what he could tell, quite deserted.

His fingers kneaded through the pebbles on between the road and the vegetation until it finally occurred to him it might be a good idea to move. He wasn’t quite lying in the middle of the road but if someone came this way, not paying any attention like so many drivers did, he might find himself run over regardless.

His legs twitched but it took quite a conscious effort on his part to get into an upright position.

By then he was panting heavily, sweat on his brow and he realized, getting off the ground might actually be beyond him.

His chest ached and with great difficulty he used his hands to pat himself down. No broken ribs then but most certainly severely bruised, going to cause him agony for quite some time to come.

He flexed his toes and despite the uncooperative legs, they were all working fine, just a bit heavy to use.

He shivered while more sweat pooled at the small of his back and not for the first time he wondered what the hell was going on.

How had he gone from walking by the side of the road to looking and more importantly, feeling like road kill?

His eyes got caught in the trees, noting the change in color of the foliage while yet quite a few leaves were already on the ground. Some trees were even almost bare and even though the sun was still pleasantly warm, was this a nip in the air?

He frowned, his forehead creasing something fierce.

Last time he checked it had been spring. So either he had lost a chunk of time or he had ended up on the other side of the world?

He didn’t know which thought was more frightening but one quick look around got rid of one idea rather quickly.

An abandoned gas station and shop were located right behind him and from the sign alone it was quite obvious he was still in his home country.

He must’ve lost time then but how was this even possible? He focused so much his brain started hurting and he raised a hand to rub his temple before he realized what he was doing.

No answers came to him.

Maybe this could all wait. Something clearly was wrong here and he needed to get away from this place because maybe who ever had done him harm was going to come back?

Either way, he needed to find shelter, get some help and since he currently wasn’t talking to Dean, there was only really one other option for him to call: Bobby.

Had his brother even noticed he had been gone?

He eyed the trees once more, willing them to take the leaves back but no amount of wishing on his part changed the scenery around him.

He sighed, trying again to stand and this time on wobbly legs he finally managed to get totally upright.

He more wobbled than walked to the nearest grim looking phone booth, hoping he would still be able to make a call.

When he fell into the booth he had to use both his hands to steady himself.

Was he running a fever? It would explain why he was so groggy, why everything was so out of tune and why his body couldn’t seem to make up its mind on either being hot or cold.

He patted down his trousers and of course he didn’t have any loose change. He grabbed the phone, dialing the operator, hoping Bobby was there and willing to accept a collect call.

“Yes?” the gruff of his friend finally echoed through the line.

“It’s Sam,” Sam managed to wheeze out but before he could get any further, Bobby interrupted him. “Do you think this is funny?”

Sam ignored him, feeling his energy wane with every passing moment.

“I don’t know where I am,” he continued, not even hearing if Bobby was still talking or if the other man had finally fallen silent. He needed to pass on as much information as he could before he finally passed out. There was no doubt on his mind that the darkness was closing in. He could already see it sneaking up on him at the edges of his awareness and sooner rather than later the dark swirls would engulf him.

“There’s an abandoned gas station there and the signs reads…” he quickly repeated what he could see and then he let go of the receiver.

Bobby might have been shouting, he might’ve called his name but everything was vanishing quite rapidly.

His tall body slowly slumped to the ground and once he was more or less sitting inside the booth, long legs spilling out, he finally passed out.

Hopefully Bobby had believed him, hopefully he had been able to pass on something useful and if not, well, it wasn’t as if he would be able to do anything about it anyway, right?

~~

“Come on, boy. You need to help me here a little bit…”

The voice was slowly drifting through to Sam through his darkness and when strong hands touched his body he lashed out. More like a kitten making a fuss than any real threat but he still delighted in hearing the other man grunting with annoyance.

“Sam!” the shout shook his world. “It’s Bobby. Stop fighting me and get your sorry ass into the car!”

Sam stopped, bleary eyes slowly opening and yes, once the form of the crouching man in front of him came into focus, he clearly recognize Bobby Singer.

“You came,” he mumbled, already slowly drifting off again.

“Oh no, you’re not passing out again. Not yet. Come on, Sam. I need your help. I can’t carry you.”

Sam managed to grunt and this time, when Bobby placed both his hands underneath Sam’s arm pits, attempting to haul him up, Sam forced his shaky legs into action.

Eventually he was up right again, leaning heavily on this friend and somehow through team effort they managed to get to the close by car.

Sam more or less crawled into the passenger seat, barely aware of being strapped in before he passed out again.

~~

When Sam opened his eyes again, he was in a soft bed. Soft cloth caressed his skin while his senses were firing up, coming fully online.

Alertness was a strange thing and when someone gently lifted his head, placing something cold and liquid to his lips, he drank eagerly.

“Easy there, tiger,” Dean’s familiar drawl had Sam’s head nearly snapping back. His brother though had a pretty good hold on his head so he didn’t give himself any whiplash.

“Dean?” Sam needed to confirm he wasn’t actually seeing things.

Dean was sitting on his bedside, looking pale and worn but apart from the dark circles underneath his eyes, he looked very much the same as Sam remembered.

“You’ve gone for half a year, Sam,” Dean’s tone was soft but Sam couldn’t miss the accusation lazed in the soft words.

He pursed his lips, white, hot spikes of anger coursing through his veins.

“So long?” he coughed. Apparently his throat was unused to words considering how much difficulty he had with speaking.

“What happened to you?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know,” was all the answer Sam had to give.

~~

From then on out, Dean proceeded to sulk. He rarely came into Sam’s room and when he did, the look he sent towards him was so un-definable that Sam had given out trying to categorize is.

He was tired. His fever was spiking for no good reason and his entire body was one big bruise. Nothing was broken though and apparently there didn’t seem to be any internal damage, as far as he and Bobby had been able to asses, so it was only a matter of time and of hanging in there until he got better again.

Still, he could’ve used Dean by his side.

Dean was a complex man at the best of times and while Sam still resented the way his brother had practically kicked him out of the car, he was willing to let it go. Apparently this happened over a year ago and enough water had since then floated underneath the bridge.

He doubted Dean was still mad about him wanting to go back to school. Maybe he was angry because Sam had gotten himself abducted? Because this was his fault?

Sam growled, punching his pillow before shifting in bed, trying to get more comfortable.

Going back to school wasn’t an option any more. At least not right now. He had missed the deadline for this semester anyway and he wasn’t ready in any case. He was smart but even he couldn’t go from being away from school and jumping right back into things without some studying beforehand.

And besides, what had happened to him? What were the chances this had only happened to him? He might not like hunting but he’d be dammed if he walked away from this until he had made sure whatever happened to him didn’t happen to some other hapless soul.

Sam suddenly shot upright in bed, hazel eyes almost comically wide.

He had been saved.

He rubbed his forehead.

How could he have forgotten about this? There was someone else there when he had woken up by the road.

The memories were hazy; he could barely call them memories at all but now that the flood gates had been opened, he could clearly recall someone lifting him and then gently depositing him on the ground. The voice had been familiar too. He had heard it before and whatever had come to his rescue had apologize and known his name.

What the hell?

His lips opened, ready to call his brother before he closed them again. Better to keep this to himself for now.

He doubted his feverish mind had made it up but without anything resembling a fact to back it up, Dean would just growl at him some more and make him feel like a failure for having gotten himself abducted and for his inability to set himself free since then. Because of course, awesome big brother that he was, if it had been Dean, he would’ve been home for dinner.

Sam flopped back down onto the bed, weary eyes slowly closing.

How had his life ended up being this complicated?

He sighed, drifting back into a restless sleep.

~~

“No, I won’t allow it.”

Dean’s voice rang loud and clear through the house, shouting with an intensity which rattled the windows.

Sam blinked, instinctively knowing his brother was pissed off but there was no real danger around because this wasn’t Dean’s scared voice, it was Dean is pissed through the roof voice.

Sam closed his eyes again. He wasn’t going to get involved. He was tired, his head ached, his ribs ached and if he kept going this way he would be able to probably name every since aching cell in his body.

Still, on the bright side, his fever seemed to have come down because he was no longer sweating and shivering at the same time. Good news, right?

He sniffed, wrinkling his nose. He could do with a shower though and while Dean was busy shouting and Bobby, Sam would have the peace and quiet he needed to clean himself up.

He couldn’t let such an opportunity go to waste. He swung his legs over the bed, more or less wobbling through the room, using his right hand to steady himself on the wall before making it out into the hallway.

The raised voices were even louder there but Sam was busy not listening.

“I won’t let some bloody psychic near my brother!”

Ah, this was what Dean was furious about. Sam turned on the water, stepping carefully underneath the spray.

For all the scary and marvelous things they had seen in their lives, Dean still firmly believed that anyone claiming to have any special gift of any sorts was a quack.

Sam couldn’t quite blame him but he still liked to think his mind was a bit more open than Dean’s when it came to these sort of things.

Bobby’s idea had some merit. Maybe someone else poking around in his head would be able to pull out some memories but on the other, he shuddered allowing anyone this kind of freedom.

No, if his memories weren’t resurfacing then there was a bloody good reason for it and he would rather stay in ignorance than break down some natural barrier which kept him sane.

Some things were better left buried.

Of course, this didn’t mean he wasn’t going to exhaust every other possible means to get to the bottom of what had happened to him.

After a quick wash and a sad look towards his cock, he stepped out of the shower stall, snagging a dry towel. Normally any kind of shower would have him hard in seconds because he had a thing for water and imagining a gorgeous blond, male or female, with water droplets running down his well toned frame…well, who wouldn’t get excited?

If his male fantasy from bore a striking resemblance to someone he knew closely, well, then this was surely just a lack of imagination on his part.

The form was familiar, this was all it was.

He sighed. Maybe this wasn’t all it was but frankly what was he supposed to do about it?

He toweled himself dry, wrapping it around his waste before stumbling back to his room. He had just about managed to pull on some sweatpants before Dean barged into the room.

Sam snorted, keeping his back turned.

“You got out of bed?”

“Yes, Dean…” Sam couldn’t quite keep the amused tone out of his voice even though he knew Dean always got irritated when he used it.

“You could’ve fallen!”

“I know how to take a shower, Dean.” Sam said way more reasonably than Dean deserved. “I’ve been doing it for a number of years and I haven’t harmed myself yet!”

Sam finally turned around, shuffling towards the bed and quickly sitting down. This way Dean might not notice how his knees were quaking.

Clearly he wasn’t quite as strong as he would like to think he was. If the fever had only broken a few hours ago then yes, he clearly needed more time to get his strength up but Dean wasn’t the only Winchester with a patent in being stubborn.

Before the fight could escalate though, the temperature in the room change. Sam’s tiny hairs at the back of his neck started standing up and the air practically vibrated with electricity.

Seconds later there was a whoosh and then the angel, the very same angel Sam had rescued, popped into the room.

Curious eyes looked left and right before they settled onto the two brothers.

“Ah, there you are…” Gabriel observed, casually walking towards the wall and then leaning against it as if he were in a bar and on the prowl.

Sam gaped while Dean for once was equally speechless.

Gabriel eyed Dean. “Look, man,” he slowly said, “I’m trying to locate Cas but the guy has gone awol. No clue where he is and frankly it is starting to worry me. He usually was a always a stickler for the rules until he met you and for him to have dropped off the face of this earth, well, let’s say it is worrying.”

Dean’s mouth hung open but no words were coming out.

“I’m sorry,” Gabriel was now turning towards Sam, a truly regretful look on his face. “I don’t know where those hell pockets came from but I think I might’ve got something to do with them.”

“Hell pockets?” Sam whispered, not liking the sound of that at all.

Gabriel nodded. “You got snatched up by one. Took ages until I could find you. Time usually works differently in hell,” he continued. “Normally if you go to hell, years pass there while topisde maybe only a few months pass but these hell pockets have sort of different rules. Hours pass in them while on the outside, time moves faster.”

Sam blinked. Was Gabriel trying to tell him he had gotten caught in a hell pocket? Maybe he had been right. He really didn’t want to remember what happened to him! No one in their right mind would want to remember hell.

“Those hell pockets,” Dean slowly started speaking again, blinking rapidly which was a sign he was straining his brain by trying to think. “They picked up Sam and other people?”

“Totally random,” Gabriel nodded. “They just pop up somewhere and whoever is unfortunate enough to pass by gets sucked in. Usually they are never seen again but once I figured out what was going on, I’ve been running around, popping pockets left and right until I got to Sam.”

“You can’t stop now!” Sam almost shouted, fingers clenching while his whole body tensed. What if there were more people trapped out there…

“I know,” Gabriel sourly said, “But now that I’ve got you, I’ll try to go after the source. I figure if I kill the source all the pockets would go back home, releasing the captives…”

“You sure?” Dean queried and Gabriel shrugged.

“No,” Gabriel admitted, “But I’m only one angel and while I am quite powerful,” here Gabriel actually patted his chest, preening like some sort of peacock, “I can’t keep chasing pockets for the rest of eternity.”

Dean grumbled but they both saw sense in what Gabriel was saying.

“Thanks,” Sam finally remembered his manners. “For getting me out…”

Dean glared at him because obviously the right to save Sam was only reserved to him but Sam simply ignored him.

“The least I could do after you freed me, Sammy,” Gabriel said quickly, clearly unsure how to deal with thanks and trying to mask it.

“So here’s what you can do,” the angel suddenly said, “You,” he glared at Dean, “are going to find your wayward angel. And I’ll figure out what’s going on with those bloody hell pockets.”

Dean opened his mouth, just like Sam, probably to ask the very same question: how were they supposed to find this angel when they didn’t even know who he was…but Gabriel didn’t wait, he smirked and then popped back out of existence.

Dean growled, kicking a nearby chair for good measure.

“This,” he swirled around, pointing a finger at Sam like some sort of child, “Is your fault.”

“How do you figure?” Sam said with annoyance, folding his arms across his chest while glaring up at his brother from where he was sitting on the bed. “I didn’t ask to get kidnapped by a freaking hell pocket!”

“But you let this freakshow out of whatever cell he was in!”

Sam narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you think that an archangel should be imprisoned? Doesn’t this strike you as wrong?”

Dean’s mouth opened and closed but no sound came over his lips.

“And what’s wrong with you anyway?” Sam continued, not in the mood to put up with any of Dean’s bullshit. “I get you want me gone. Sorry for being back in your life. But getting abducted wasn’t my idea. I’d rather be boring myself in a library right now than sitting here, hearing you whine and blame me for something that wasn’t my fault!”

“Sam,” Dean slowly said, looking slightly stricken, “I never said…”

Sam narrowed his eyes, not wanting to put up with any more bullshit. “I’m tired. Get out. Wake me when there is food.”

For a moment Dean looked as if he was going to object but then he nodded curtly, turning around on his heels and stalking out of the room as if he was the one with the grievance.

Sam shook his head, simply allowing gravity to do its job by falling backwards until he was sort of sprawled on the bed.

He was tired. So tired. Of everything.

~~

“How do we track a bloody angel?” Dean grumbled. “He probably doesn’t want to be found anyway. Why else hasn’t Gabriel located him?”

Sam shrugged, burying his nose further in his current book.

About two days had passed since Gabriel had popped in, giving him their new task and after sleeping a bit longer, Sam had decided he had enough of resting.

Sure, he still ached but he wasn’t feverish any more so there was no reason for him to launch around in bed, getting homicidal out of boredom.

Getting Bobby up to speed had been hilarious because of course he had though Dean was trying to prank him but apparently Sam had more credibility because when he confirmed, yes, he had indeed freed an imprisoned archangel, Bobby had shut up and started researching angel lore.

“Well,” Sam said slowly, extracting himself form the book, turning around and then giving Dean a grave look. “Gabriel kept saying Castiel was your angel…”

This had Dean scoffing but Sam ignored him.

“So maybe we can try this summoning ritual Bobby has discovered…and we can use you as an anchor.”

“If I were connected to some freaking angel, don’t you think I would know about it?”

Sam shrugged.

“Do you have a better idea?” he offered, willing to listen to Dean if he had anything else to say.

Nothing was coming though.

“No?” he prompted before he nodded to himself. “Then I guess we’ll go with plan A.”

Dean grumbled but he didn’t actually object any further.

~~

The ritual in itself was pretty simplistic and it even went off without a hitch.

“I'm still waiting,” Dean grumbled, folding his arms across his chest, foot tapping lightly.

Sam frowned, chewing on his lower lip while Bobby stood off the side, looking conflicted; as he if didn't know if he should be happy the angel hadn't shown up or disappointed.

“Oh well,” Sam huffed, “We tried, right?”

He bent to pick up one of the candles from the floor when there was a sudden whoosh in the air, as if a hole had suddenly appeared out of the nowhere, sucking in all the oxygen and then, from one blink to the next, a man appeared.

Sam's eyes drifted up, noting the leather clad legs, the strong thighs, the fitting dark shirt until his eyes finally landed on a ruggedly handsome face framed by dark hair and very blue eyes.

“Uhm,” he stuttered, “Hi?”

The man glared at him, “Who are you?”

Sam gaped, slowly rising until he was standing while Dean practically vibrated with barely concealed excitement next to him.

“You're Castiel?” he said with glee, like a child who had gotten his favorite toy. “You're my angel?”

“Uhm, Dean,” Sam slowly warned. This might be Castiel, supposedly Dean's angel but from the looks of things, on one had actually told Castiel this part.

“Gabriel says hi,” Sam quickly put himself in between Dean and the angel, just in the case the feathery ass was going to do something rash. He did have the look of someone who was prone to indulge his temper, what with the tight leather pants and the dark outfit screaming attitude from a mile away.

The angel actually snorted before the stoic look returned. “Gabriel,” the drawled, “Figures...” and after a moment of lingering silence, “What do you want?”

“Some stupid hell pocket took my brother,” Dean pushed passed Sam and into the line of sight of the angel making Sam twitchy. Something ugly, nearly violent lurched in the pit of his stomach, trying to claw its way free and it took Sam a moment to decipher what was going on.

Dean was looking at his angel, this mockery of what an angel was supposed to look like, and he was making what Sam privately called, fuck-me eyes.

He didn't like it one bit.

It was now Sam's turn to fold his arms across his chest, looking mulish.

“Ah,” Castiel said, rubbing the bridge of his nose before he gingerly stepped out of the circle, closer to Dean.

The angel gave Sam a look which practically telegraphed to stay away from him but Sam didn't budge.

“Gabriel did something foolish,” the angel slowly said, “Well,” he corrected himself, “Maybe not foolish but he changed history.”

“Come again?” Bobby queried and the angel didn't even twitch even though the older hunter had been out of his line of sight. Maybe angels had some sort of sensatory awareness or maybe Castiel just didn't rile easily. Either way he gave no indication that Bobby's presence had taken him by surprise.

“Let's not dwell,” Gabriel's voice boomed out of nowhere and after a quick gust of wind, Sam nearly jumped out of his skin because the angel's hand come to lay heavily on his shoulder, squeezing slightly.

Dean turned his head, glowering at the man behind his brother causing Sam to roll his eyes. What was Dean's problem now?

“Let's leave it at calling it bad and move on, shall we?” Gabriel continued and this time it was Castiel who made a unhappy face.

“I've been looking for you,” the angel said. “One moment you were there and then everything sort of fell out of place. Then the orders came imprisoning you for eternity and no one would tell me why.”

“So you grew some balls and rebelled?”

Castiel pursed his lips. “I have faith,” the angel spit out, “I would never directly obey an order...”

“But you found the loopholes and worked around them...” Gabriel sounded pleased, “And,” he added, “Little brother, I like your new look. So much better than the holy tax accountant look you had going for you the first time around.”

“What?” Dean's head swirled around but no one paid him any attention.

“Hell pockets,” Sam brought up again, shuddering at the thought. He couldn't recall what happened to him and considering what hell pockets sounded like, he had probably come away easily but if he never remembered what had actually happened, he would be glad.

“Normally time in hell speeds up,” Gabriel explained. “If you were to go to hell and then a few months later your brother would bring you back, or let's say, an angel,” there was a pointed look at Castiel which no one knew what to make off before Gabriel continued, “then years possibly even decades would've passed topside.”

“Not for me though,” Sam added.

“Yes,” Gabriel agreed, “With hell pockets the law are reversed. Only minutes pass for you but on the outside times moves faster. Or maybe, to say it better, time slows down in the pockets while on the outside everything continues as normal.”

“That's a good thing though, right?” Dean sounded worried and Sam found he agreed. He'd rather be missing for months while for him only a few minutes in a hell pocket had passed. He'd come out running a fever, beat to hell and barely conscious and if this had happened in only a few minutes he shuddered to think what given a little bit more time would've done to him.

“I've found the culprit and fixed it...” Gabriel continued while Castiel actually snorted.

“I've been trying to find whoever is responsible for this atrocity for months now. How could you possibly have taken are of it so quickly?”

“Because I'm partially responsible for it,” Gabriel's voice was now subdued. “When I changed history, traveling back in time to set things right, to make a better future for all of us, I sort of unleashed a power I shouldn't have. I noticed an imbalance straight away when I woke up and rushed after it. I didn't get to Sam in time but rest assured, I've taken care of things. No more hell pockets.”

“But,” Dean started to object but Sam shook his head at him. Now wasn't the time to call an archangel a liar. It would be an easy enough thing to check if there any more pockets around because if people kept disappearing and then popping back up screaming bloody murder then clearly Gabriel had been wrong. And if he had been right, well, why look a gift horse in the mouth? Yet another successful hunt under their belt and they didn't even have to leave house for it. What was not to like?

“We've got some catching up to do,” Gabriel was ignoring everyone now, eyes trained on Castiel and when the other angel nodded, both of them popped out of existence in the blink of an eye.

“I don't want you anywhere near this phony archangel,” Dean ordered, looking mutinous, his green eyes fixed on Sam.

“What's your problem?” Sam shot back. “I wasn't the one making bambi eyes at an angel. You were this close,” Sam held up his fingers, leaving next to no space in between them to indicate just how close he thought Dean had been. “This close,” he emphasized, “to rip off your clothes and throwing yourself at the pretty angel.”

Dean's eyes narrowed before he crossed the distance, pushing into Sam's space.

“Oh for the love of...” Bobby grumbled, stalking out of the room and closing a door loudly somewhere else in the house as he retreated from the levels of insanity on the rise in his living room.

“As if you're this innocent!” Dean spat out. “You've been making eyes at Gabriel from the moment he called you Sammy!” Dean actually managed to close the distance even further, his face barely away from Sam's, causing the young hunter's eyes to criss cross as he was valiantly trying to keep staring his brother down. “No one but me gets to call you Sammy!”

Sam shoved, anger spilling over the edge of its container, but Dean didn't budge. Instead the man grabbed Sam by the shoulders, shoving equally hard and when Sam actually wavered, he shoved further until he had managed to walk Sam all the way towards the wall, crowding him further.

His strong body was plastered to Sam, not an inch between them while Sam's breath grew labored.

“You don't get to entertain notions about other men!”

“Gabriel is no man!”

Dean growled, balling his fingers into a tight fist, slamming it into the wall inches away from Sam's face.

Sam gulped but the rage still coursed through his body.

“What do you want, Dean?” he managed to clench out through his teeth.

“This...” Dean hissed right back, his lips crashing onto Sam's, devouring the younger man's mouth as if he was manna sent down from heaven.

Sam gulped, opening up automatically, nearly melting into Dean's embrace before some higher brain function geared up again.

“No,” he shoved once more and this time Dean actually stumbled away, looking slightly stricken. “You don't get to kiss me, touch me and then come morning decide I'm not worth your attention. If we're going to go down this road then we aren't doing it in the dark. I'm no ones dark secrete, not even for you, Dean.”

“That's not,” Dean stuttered, “That's not what happened at all!”

“Oh?” Sam shot back, heat waning somewhat but now his aches and pains were busy reminding him he was not quite all healed yet. The fever might've broken, he was able to move around without passing out but if he were to lift his shirt, his torso would still be black and blue like some sort of messed up canvas.

“I never...you're my little brother...” Dean continued to stutter. “I can't take advantage of you...”

“Oh for the life of...” Sam cursed. “I'm not little. Haven't been in a while. I can't recall me saying no or beating the shit out of you and while I can't say I've laid awake at night thinking about you naked, I'm not appalled either.”

Dean looked contrite for a moment.

Sam tilted his head sideways, a curious thought fluttering through his brain. “You've thought about me at night?”

“Uhm...” Dean so eloquently answered, “And other places...”

It was no Sam's turn to blush because learning he was someone wanking fantasy was kind of hot and disturbing at the same time.

“You can't tell me this brother thing isn't going to bother you sooner or later,” Dean must've found his words in the sudden silence and for a moment Sam paused. Dean was right. They couldn't take this step lightly.

Too much depended on it and frankly, despite their fights, he wouldn't know what to do if Dean walked out of his life for good.

“Why did you kick me out of the car then? Why did you shut me out that night?” Before Sam could go any further he needed to know these things. He had to guard his heart because if Dean gave himself to him, if he gave himself to Dean in turn and then everything fell apart, he wasn't so sure he would be able to pick up the pieces.

“Because we're brothers and I kind of took advantage of the fact you nearly died. I thought it might be best if you left...”

“You didn't have to kick me out of the car though...”

“I didn't go very far,” Dean quickly answered, “Just around the bend before I turned around and came back for you and you were already gone.”

“Oh.”

“At first I thought you had just run off, so I gave you a few days to cool down but when you never answered any of my calls, if you didn't show up anywhere, I started worrying. And then searching for you. I never stopped looking, Sammy...never.”

“There are lots of places we can go where no one knows us,” Dean continued. “We can go by any other last name if someone asks. The only one who really matters is Bobby and him walking away like this, I'm pretty sure he knows.”

Sam nodded. Bobby wasn't going to throw them out. He might have a few choice words for them but nothing was going to change the fact they were family.

“There's no one else's opinion that really matters and so what if eventually a few other hunters track us down...?”

Sam broke eye contact, looking down, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. He was self conscious now. He knew he wasn't ugly to look at; he wasn't stupid and their family had been kind of blessed in the looks department and the active life style had done the rest. Still, for Dean to practically confess to have been thinking about him in a sexual way for quite a while, it was a lot to take in.

Sam couldn't deny he was into the idea. But if he needed Dean to be sure then of course he had to return the favor.

“I want to try,” he eventually said. “I do want to do this with you but I haven't really thought about you in...” he coughed, voice trailing slightly off, “in a sexual way for long. I can't make any promises...I won't cheat,” he hastily added, because this was important. He had never cheated on anyone and he wasn't about to start with his brother.

His brother...and soon to be lover.

“I want to say this is forever but I...”

“Sammy,” Dean's voice was a low hum, laden with want which only now Sam was able to decipher and correctly pin point. Dean wanted him. In every possible conceivable way. It was a heady feeling, no denying that. “I'm not asking for forever. No one can tell the future. All I am asking for is for now, to try and we'll always be family. No matter what.”

“You promise?” Sam hated the little boy lost voice he had going but this was important. His eyes shot up, zooming in on his brother who had come closer, approaching carefully as if he was afraid of spooking the cornered deer.

Sam felt his hackles rising because he wasn't some kind of scared prey but Dean's kind and loving look shut him up quickly. Maybe sometimes he really didn't need to speak his mind.

“We're always going to be family, Sam. We might fight but we're blood. That's never going to change.

And then Dean sealed his promise with a kiss.

~~

Sweat, trickling down his spine.

Tongue on the nape of his neck, licking, savoring every moment, sending tickling sensations up and down his spine.

His back arched, leaning into the touch as his cock rose higher, brushing against skin while a hot rod was being shoved into his body. His ass clenched; his channel felt so tight, barely opening up wide enough to take Dean's cock all the way up and yet, yet his body yielded, taking everything in stride.

This was heaven.

This was how it should.

The End.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the story. You can also find this story over at my LJ. [HERE](http://kuhekabir-fics.livejournal.com/89973.html)


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